Graduate Research Coordinators

Information about Melbourne Law School's Graduate Research Coordinators

A Graduate Research Coordinator (GRC) is an experienced member of academic staff who assists, Professor Shaun McVeigh, Director of Graduate Research in overseeing the milestones in a graduate research student's candidature. Part of their role is to Chair a PhD or MPhil candidate's Advisory Committee. As of 2010, an Advisory Committee must be established from commencement to completion for each graduate research student's candidature. An Advisory Committee is made up of the candidate's supervisors, the Chair, and, at the point of Confirmation of Candidature, the Academic Assessor joins the Advisory Committee.

As the Advisory Committee Chair, the GRC will participate in a candidate's annual progress meetings, including the 6-month meeting, Confirmation of Candidature and Completion Seminar, sign the annual Progress Report Forms and monitor and oversee the candidate's progress.

The Advisory Committee in general, and the GRC as Chair, provides a source of advice and communication to both the candidate and supervisor(s). If the candidate or supervisors have concerns about the progress of the PhD or MPhil they can speak to the GRC as Advisory Committee Chair or to the Associate Dean (Research).

While the GRC is a valuable source of support for candidates, they are not required to carry out supervisory roles such as reading drafts of theses or providing feedback on a candidate's thesis outside the annual progress meetings.

Each graduate research student will be advised which GRC has been allocated as their Advisory Committee Chair before their 6-month meeting. At this first meeting the GRC will discuss a range of items with each student as required or relevant such as preparation for confirmation, time and frequency of supervisory meetings, expected weekly time commitments, thesis outline/research plan/timelines, and courses needed for successful, timely completion. There is also an opportunity for the student to meet privately with the Chair at the end of the meeting to raise any particular issues of concern they may have so that any problems can be dealt with as early as possible in the candidature.

The Current Graduate Research Coordinators are: